A Great Find!

My sister and nephew were down for a visit this past week and we finally got a chance to take a ride down to Nelson County to check out a little place that I had been reading about for over a year. It was so worth the wait! My great little find of the week is called Notforgotten Farm; a humble farm owned by Lori and Peter Brechlin  in Amherst, Virginia.

Lori's shop is in a quaint, unique cottage with a wonderful garden that instantly welcomes you inside the front gate. All around the front porch there are antiques for purchase and great pieces that are perfectly placed to complete the feeling that you have just stepped back in time. The real surprise comes when you walk through the front door and it's time to take in all the goodies in the shop! If you are at all a fan of Lori's work you will not be disappointed. I had a hard time restraining myself from buying everything I saw. In addition to all her great pieces, she offers the work of some other really talented artists. Two of which we had the pleasure to meet; Joan and Felicia. Felicia, better known as Flea is Lori's stitcher and we got to see her at work. Trust me, when Lori says she is the fastest stitcher in the East, she is not exaggerating!

Tonight when I was reading through all the recent blog posts from the blogs I follow, I found Lori is having a giveaway. I am so excited to have an opportunity to win one of her kits, I thought I would share! You can also find some of her patterns in her Etsy Shop.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Giveaway!

It's that time again Folks!
in appreciation of your kind words, support and friendship ~

and for just putting up with me in general...

I'll be holding a Giveaway for one of my
Harvest Pickin's Pinkeep Kits!!!

all you have to do
is leave me a comment on this post
...and you'll be in the running to win ~
((of course, if you'd like to blog about it or post it on your sidebar, that's ok too!!!))
the drawing will be held on Wednesday July 20th...
and I want to Thank you to all of you who have ordered this little kit!

It measures approx. 4.5" x 2.75" on 28ct linen over two...

Good Luck!

This Week's On Fire for Handmade Featured Artist!

Our latest Featured Artisan is Kim Brinsfield of VA beach Quilter. Kim has been a machine quilter for 12 years and has been selling on-line since 2009. Kim has a wonderful selection of goodies in her shop. Quilts, table runners, coasters.. the list goes on and on... Kim lives with her family in Virginia Beach, VA which is just a piece down 64 from Charlottesville where we are located!

You can find VA Beach Quilter on:

Etsy

Artfire

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

The Chicks Arrived Today!

Today's the day we finally got our new baby chicks! Some of you may recall we had ordered them months ago and we were supposed to get them from McMurray Hatchery in Texas, but we had to change our plans and order from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio. It turned out much better for all involved because we didn't have to order a minimum of 25 chicks and we were able to get exactly what we wanted!

It seems rather odd that you can mail order baby poultry, but that is how the hatcheries have been doing it for decades! Another reason we changed suppliers, is that Meyer ships on Monday and Tuesday of each week and McMurray ships on Saturday. For us, this meant our chicks would be sitting in a distribution center for an extra day and we just couldn't do that to them. We wanted the best chance of 100% survival and as you can see, so far so good!

Yes, they came via USPS Priority Mail!

I will admit, I hardly slept last night worrying that the Post Office would actually deliver on time without a hitch.They left Ohio on Monday afternoon at 1:02 pm and were scheduled to arrive at our rural post office this morning when the truck brings the mail from the main distribution center in Sandston, VA. I was worried because I have had packages sit there for days with no reasonable explanation and if that happened with this package, I was going to be carrying around a lot of guilt! The Charlottesville, VA Post Office used to be a main distribution center so the chicks from TX got here faster and back then McMurray also shipped during the week. 15 years ago when we lived on a smaller property in Free Union, VA we picked our chicks up there and we had 2 deaths so I am very pleased about today's delivery!

Enough talking, let me introduce you to the ladies!

Just out of the box!

They start eating, drinking and scratching almost immediately.

It is hard to resist their little peeps!

These three are Welsummers

 

                                                                                            

If you are wondering what we got and what they all are, you can follow the links in the names top see what the adult girls will look like.

Welsummer - 3 Female, Golden Campine  - 3 Female, Dominique - 3 Female, Buff Orpington - 3 Female,  and Ameraucana - 5 Female

I also posted a little video if you want to take a peep! :^)

You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/25467837

This Weeks On Fire for Handmade Featured Artisan!

This weeks featured artisan is Shelly of "Handmade Creations by Shelly!" Head over to her shop to see some wonderful creations made by a wonderful lady!

You can find Shelly on:

 

Etsy

Artfire

Shelly's Knitting

Twitter

Facebook

Blog

You can grab the code for your blog here:

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?d=1kAnDZ4JoTymW34AwVspuhoMFif6mzjoSsukJ7aJ8ZEo

Head on Over To the Rusty Thimble for a Chance to Win One of Her Fabulous Prims!

Brenda at the Rusty Thimble is having another wonderful giveaway! 

One winner will get one of these Witches;
a design by Brenda Sanker of The Vintage Polka Dot
Just in time to include her in your fall
decorating plans!

This giveaway will run until July the 14th and she will pick a Winner on

July the 15th which will be her birthday!

What a way to celebrate!

Don't Miss Your Chance to Win One of These Fabulous One of a Kind Bags from Janet Metzger at The Empty Nest!

Anyone Up for a Giveaway?

Hello friends and welcome back. 

If you are new to my blog...well you picked a great day to pop in.

I feel like doing a

 Giveaway!

Ok...so a few months ago, I used a few of my gorgeous home decor remnant fabric pieces to create a few fun summer totes.

For the linings, I used vintage pillowcases from my local thrift shop finds.

I hope you will think them worthy of a Giveaway prize.

This is the first one....OH, did I forget to tell you, I'm not just giving away one tote. Two lucky winners will walk away with a new Empty Nest Original (that sounds so pompous...but cool).

Oh..and did I also neglect to tell you that these totes will be packed with beautiful, fun and colorful 

Fabric!

All kinds of cottons, home decor and more.

The first tote is fashioned form  a design house home decor floral/stripe fabric.

Beige strips on one side and pale green on the other.

Yup...my name is one the outside of your tote. 

You can no longer deny knowing me

;->

This tote is lined with a pretty light lavender floral vintage pillowcase

So sweet

I love the muted watercolor floral

Just imagine filling my (your) tote with summer market veggies, books from the library or flea market treasures. Perfect as cool beach bag also.

The second tote features a remnant piece of Susan Sargent fabric.

I love the colors and design of this fabric.

Both totes are fabulous and functional 17 inches x 15 inches with a 3 inch gusset.

My name will haunt you forever...not to be removed unless by court order

;->

Summery lemon yellow and lime green vintage pillowcase lining on this beauty.

Even the striped handles are constructed from remnant home decor fabric, very sturdy.

My(your) totes are soft and easily folded up to be tucked in a suitcase or a handbag while traveling.

Let's face it...with gasoline being close to $5.00 a gallon, you will appreciate a Free tote while on the road!

A small sample of my excess fabric!

As an added Bonus, I will be filling each tote with lot's of fabric from my overloaded stash.

My Giveaway will be open to ALL my followers. So if you are an international blogger, please do enter.

*THE RULES*

There are none!!!

I hate Giveaway rules like I hate those grocery store loyalty cards.

My thoughts on those:

"I'm shopping in your darn store...just give me the stupid sale price already!!!!"

Ok..back to my sweet persona

So are you feeling lucky?

If you have some spare time (I know...what's that?) 

A tweet and a blog mention is always nice, but NOT a requirement.

My Giveaway will close on June 5th, Sunday.

I know these are busy times for many, so I am giving you two full weekends to enter.

GOOD LUCK!

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.

Sharing with :

All Things Inspired

Tea Rose Home

This Weeks On Fire For Handmade Featured Artisan

It's been a while since I have posted! Spring is a busy time on the farm and this year has been no exception. I haven't created a new item for the shop in almost two months and I still working two jobs on top of everything else.

This weeks Featured Artisan is Theresa Karnes of Tak Unique Designs. Theresa enjoys handcrafting beautiful and unique jewelry with genuine gemstones and high quality findings. Enjoy!

This weeks Featured Artisan is Theresa Karnes - Tak Unique Designs. Teresa has beautiful creations in her shop! You can find Tak Unique Designs on:

Artfire

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